Chandigarh Apr 26 PTI Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said the problem of power cuts in the state will be resolved soon and assured that his government is taking measures to ease the situation The main opposition party in the state Congress has slammed the government blaming it for the power crisis with its senior leader Randeep Surjewala claiming that this is worst ever electricity crisis because in Haryana Uninterrupted electricity will be provided to citizens of the state For this permanent measures are being taken by the power discoms The problem of power cuts in the state will be resolved soon he said according to an official statement The chief minister was presiding over a meeting here with officials of electricity distribution companies discoms and it was also attended by Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala During the summer season the consumption of power increases and discoms are providing electricity to consumers by purchasing it at higher rates Khattar said To meet the increasing power consumption during the summer season problems at the power station in Khedar are also being resolved and this plant will soon be made operational he said Two weeks ago Chautala had said that one unit of the Khedar Thermal Power Plant was shut down for a few days due to a technical fault in a router Khattar said that after the onset of monsoon there would be some reduction in power consumption till then 3000 megawatt MW of additional power would be required and for this necessary arrangements are being made by the state government About 400 MW of power will be produced through a short-term forecasting model which would be made available to consumers he said spelling out the measures to meet the demand The chief minister said that a new 750 MW power plant would be set up in Yamunanagar and the process for the same is being completed After installation of this power plant 750 MW of additional power will be generated he said Opposition parties have targeted the BJP-JJP government over the power issue with Surjewala last week claiming that Haryana at present is facing the worst ever power crisis because of a big gap between the demand and supply of electricity Surjewala had accused the state government of buying short-term electricity at much higher rates burdening the state exchequer PTI SUN VSD ANB ANB

Chandigarh Apr 25 PTI Haryanas Independent MLA from Meham Balraj Kundu on Monday alleged that unemployment was at its peak in the state but the BJP-JJP government was in denial mode Unemployment is at its peak in Haryana but the government is not ready to accept the fact and is in a denial mode It trashes the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy CMIE figures which has in the past put the unemployment rate at over 30 per cent The government speaks a white lie when it claims the unemployment rate in the state is only around 6 per cent Kundu told reporters here He also said let the government come out with unemployment figures of any district or any one assembly constituency I challenge the government that I will also get an independent survey done later from the same district or constituency and the real picture will be before people he said He said youth are going astray and taking to petty crimes because they are unable to find jobs Nearly 30000 posts are vacant in the education department 17000 posts are lying vacant in the health department but the government is not filling them up to provide jobs to the youth he alleged Kundu alleged that corruption is rampant and the law and order situation is worsening The power situation is also bad with cuts being imposed daily he said Kundu further said that the government schools are in a bad shape in Haryana forcing parents to get their children admitted in private schools The legislator also alleged that various sections are fed up with the alleged misrule of the state government which he claimed has failed on all fronts He also hit out at the government after four people died due to inhaling some poisonous gas inside a tank of a sewerage treatment plant at a village in Hisar district on Tuesday Two sewage workers had entered the 50-feet deep tank in Buddakhera village for maintenance work while two others went inside to check when they did not come out but all four died due to inhaling some poisonous gas police had said earlier Four precious lives were lost in the incident due to government negligence because the workers did not have proper safety gear I will write to the chief minister urging that the next of kin of each deceased should be given a financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh and a government job the MLA said Kundu meanwhile said the governments decision to ban the sale of wheat residue which is used as cattle fodder outside the state was an anti-farmer step Banning the sale of tudi wheat residue outside the state is not a wise decision This decision should be withdrawn immediately he said First farmers had to face difficulties due to unseasonal rains followed by summer setting in early The vagaries of weather have resulted in loss in wheat yield by 5-10 quintal per acre Rather than compensating the farmers for their loss the government comes out with decisions of banning sale of tudi he said Kundu along with six other Independent MLAs had lent post-poll support to the BJP when it came to power in alliance with the JJP after the October 2019 assembly polls However in February 2020 Kundu cited alleged corruption in the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government and levelled allegations against a former minister after which he announced to withdraw his support to the government Kundu had also come out in support of the farmers agitation against the now repealed central farm laws PTI SUN CK

Chandigarh Apr 22 PTI A 43-year-old man who was a key witness in his wifes murder case was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants outside a court complex in Haryanas Sonipat on Friday police saidVed Prakash a resident of Mukinpur village in Sonipat was going to attend a hearing in his wifes murder case when the bike-borne men shot him thrice and fled they saidHe was taken to the hospital where he was declared brought dead Additional Superintendent of Police Sonipat Nikita Khattar said over the phoneShe said the incident took place outside the court complexVed Prakashs wife was murdered last year PTI SUN VSD IJT

Chandigarh Apr 21 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday greeted the people on the occasion of 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur In a message the chief minister called upon the people to follow the eternal message of universal brotherhood religious freedom and welfare of mankind Chardikala as propagated by the ninth Sikh Guru Throwing light on the life and philosophy of the Guru since his early childhood till he attained martyrdom for the sake of humanity and religious tolerance Mann said Guru Jis supreme sacrifice shall ever remain a beacon of inspiration for the world Imploring the people to follow the teachings of the Guru in the right earnest Mann said that the essence of his message was love secularism freedom of faith and peaceful coexistence which was still relevant in the present times PTI SUN VSD KVK KVK

Chandigarh Apr 18 PTI A 12-year-old girl student was killed while three others sustained injuries after they were hit by a bus while crossing a road at Mahilan Chowk in Punjabs Sangrur district on Monday police said A 12-year-old girl died in the incident while three other students were injured when the bus hit them while they were crossing the road to return home after school hours a police official of the Chhajli police station in Sangrur said He said the injured were hospitalised of which two have been discharged while another one with serious injuries has been referred to a government hospital in Patiala Meanwhile Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed deep anguish and sorrow over the road accident Mann announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the family of the girl and directed the district administration to provide free treatment to the injured PTI SUN VSD RDK

Chandigarh Mar 31 PTI The Punjab cabinet on Thursday approved an extension of the states excise policy for three months for the period of April 1 to June 30 of the financial year 2022-23The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here this evening an official statement saidIt said the policy has been allowed a renewal for a period of three months to those existing licensees who will give 175 per cent excess revenue over the Minimum Guaranteed Revenue MGR of the financial year 2021-22 for their respective groupzone in order to maintain stability in liquor tradeHowever the number of groups or zones and the number of liquor vends will remain the sameThe statement further said that the MGR of groups or zones of the state would be Rs 144096 crore for a period of three monthsHowever the revenue target of this short term excise policy has been pegged at Rs 1910 crore for the three months period it saidIn order to generate more revenue the Minimum Guaranteed Quota MGQ of Punjab Medium Liquor Indian Made Foreign Liquor Beer and Imported Foreign Liquor of each group or zone has been increased by 10 per cent over the minimum guaranteed quota of the corresponding first quarter of the last financial year of the respective group or zoneFurther to allow retail licensees to lift liquor as per their requirement the amount of additional fixed licence fee has been increased the statement saidThe ratio of fixed and open quota of PML shall be 3070 as was prevalent during the financial year 2021-22 In order to control the production and movement of liquor an IT-based track-and-trace system would be implemented during the financial tear 2022-23 the statement said PTI SUN IJT

Chandigarh Mar 24 PTI Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday announced setting up of a high-powered committee to deal with corruption cases more effectively Speaking to reporters here after chairing a meeting of deputy commissioners and superintendents of police from across the state the chief minister said the committee will meet every month to redress complaints of corruption at the earliestThe chief minister told the officials to deal with cases of corruption with an iron hand and said he would also be monitoring things closely sources saidThe BJP-JJP government has come under attack from the opposition which has alleged rampant corruption in various spheres of the governmentIn the recently held budget session of Haryana assembly the opposition had claimed that several scams have taken place during the BJP-led government in the stateKhattar said the committee will be headed by the Haryana chief secretary It will include the financial commissioner revenue additional chief secretary home director general of police additional director general of police CID and director of State Vigilance Bureau as its members The chief minister also announced the expansion of State Vigilance at the division levelAccording to an official statement the meeting mainly discussed the focus points of the recently presented state budget Along with this monitoring of corruption was also discussed it saidCorruption has penetrated deeply today Previous governments did not expose it and brushed it under the carpet But whenever any wrongdoing comes to our notice we take action The main aim of the government is to create an atmosphere of fear in the minds of the corrupt For this the government is also laying stress on digitalisation he saidThe chief minister said to check corruption while decentralizing the Haryana State Vigilance Bureau it has been decided to set up six independent units at the divisional levelProsecution sanction of these units at the divisional level will be with the divisional commissioner The main task of these units will be to investigate corruption complaints received against group B C and D category government employees involving an amount of up to Rs 1 croreThe State Vigilance Bureau will continue to investigate the complaints of group A category employees involving an amount of Rs 1 crore or moreMeanwhile Khattar said it has also been decided to form a Human Resource Department for government employeesThe department will keep records related to employees their transfers cases against them and pension-related matters after retirementThis department will remain with the chief minister PTI SUN VSD RHL

Chandigarh Jan 28 PTI The Haryana government on Friday eased some Covid-related restrictions in the state allowing the opening of all cinema halls theatres and multiplexes with 50 percent seating capacity a government order said All cinema halls theatres multiplexes are allowed to open with 50 percent seating capacity while adopting requisite social distancing norms regular sanitisation and Covid-19 appropriate behavioural norms as per the order issued by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority HSDMA An earlier order of the HSDMA issued on January 5 had stated that cinema halls theatres and multiplexes shall remain closed Fridays order also said Universities colleges schools for classes 10 to 12 polytechnics Industrial Training Institutes coaching institutions libraries training institutes both government and private are allowed to open from February 1 for physical classes Education Minister Kanwar Pal had said on Tuesday schools for classes 10 to 12 will reopen in the state from February 1 The Haryana government had earlier this month suspended physical classes in all schools amid the surge in COVID-19 cases The educational institutions will have to adopt requisite social distancing norms regular sanitisation and Covid appropriate behavioural norms the fresh order said Concerned institutions may advise all the students of age group more than 15 years to have at least first dose of vaccination against Covid while attending physical classes it said Notably various restrictions imposed by the January 5 order of the HSDMA in some districts which had witnessed a big spike in cases were imposed in all districts later Many other restrictions had on Wednesday been extended till 5 am of February 10 Earlier on January 10 the Haryana government had banned large gatherings of people such as rallies and protests All sports complexes swimming pools gyms and stadia shall remain closed except when being used for training of sportspersons for participation in national and international events the earlier order had said Haryana has witnessed a huge spike in Covid cases over the past few weeks To check the spread of the infection the state government had banned people eligible for vaccination but not fully vaccinated from entering shopping malls cinema halls restaurants and grain markets among other crowded places starting January 1 A night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am is already in force in the state PTI SUN AQS AQS

Chandigarh Jan 26 PTI The Haryana government on Wednesday extended Covid-related restrictions in the state till February 10 but allowed malls and markets to remain open till 7 pm extending the relaxation by one hour Initially various restrictions imposed by the January 5 order in some districts which had witnessed a big spike in cases were imposed in all districts the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority HSDMA had said in an earlier order issued on January 13 Now the guidelines released through orders on January 5 10 13 and 18 have been extended till February 10 as per the HSDMA order dated January 26 As per an earlier order the restrictions which had been extended up to January 28 will now remain in force till 5 am of February 10 The malls and markets are allowed to open up to 7 pm as against 6 pm earlier However shops selling essential items like milk and medicine will be allowed to open at all times to enable them to serve the public at large Earlier on January 10 the Haryana government had banned large gatherings of people such as rallies and protests Cinema halls theatres and multiplexes shall remain closed the earlier order issued on January 5 had stated All sports complexes swimming pools gyms and stadia shall remain closed except when being used for training of sportspersons for participation in national and international events it had said Haryana has witnessed a huge spike in Covid cases over the past few weeks To check the spread of the infection the state government had banned people eligible for vaccination but not fully vaccinated from entering shopping malls cinema halls restaurants and grain markets among other crowded places starting January 1 A night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am is already in force in the state PTI SUN AQS AQS

Chandigarh Jan 22 PTI Senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said he has tested positive for COVID-19He said he has isolated himself at homeAfter experiencing some Covid-like symptoms I got myself tested and am Covid positive On the advice of doctors I have isolated myself at home I would request everyone who came in contact with me over the last few days to take appropriate precautions and get themselves tested Hooda who is the Leader of Opposition in Haryana tweetedNotably three weeks ago Hoodas son and Congress leader Deepender Singh had also tested positive for COVID-19The two had also tested positive for the viral disease last year PTI SUN DIV DIV